, 1887-06-01
The JGost NTadonna.
(TOncIL1sY from, secood 1ooo
ootsteps rapidly approaching. ard feoro,,

ootsteps rapidly approaching, Ard feares!
pursuit on n meeting with street mnrnul.
Ts, we lost no time in reaching the gate.
The gunrd opened it Immediately. The
word American" had q charm for them,
especially as It wa followed by a handful
of pinsters thrown at them when the gate
was opened. i presume they imagined we
did It in our drunken fun, but 1t was
really TO draw their attention from our
companion. After we Ind passed through
/ locked the gate and threw away the key.
The guards were too busy picking up the
money to heed a laundering Mt the gate
after we had gone on We did not reach
our boats too soon, for we could hear NUT
tering voices n tramping feet close be-
hind US. With muffied oars we pulled
for my friends brig. We had proceeded
not more than fifty yards from the shore
when we heard u pursuers jumping into
boats at the landing. Who they were we
could not tell, but they had not the Gus
tomary lights with them to indicate that
they were honest citizens. The extreme
darkness favored our flight among the
many vessels anchored In the harbor, most
OF which had their anchor lights up. My
friends vessel had two lights in the main
rigging as a private signal. These were
put out as soon as we reached the deck.
Entering the cabin we agnin saw the
face OF the lady. AS l have before said,
she was the most beautiful woman 1 had
ever seen. i could not help feeling that
my friend was not the handsome follow
that deserved to be united to such lowell
ness-yet the gods mated Venus and
Vulcan. The Swedish captain was speech
less with admiration. 1 alSed as his
ambassador, and informed her how des-
perately In love he was, and that he was
determined to save her or lose his life In
the attempt. She WINS now free to act
for herself, but l was sure that IL she
married him she would have a loving
husband. As / mad been concerned in
her rescue from captivity l felt 1t my
right as well as my duty to urge her to
accept him. She did not utter q word,
but remained perfectly passive. I ad-
vised him to leave the cabin and get his
ship under way ut once My boats crew
would assist him The vessel must be
outside the harbor, 1 said, before day
light, and before sunrise be well into the
Sea Of Marmora- And so we parted.
II was three O'Clock when l reached my
ship. Sleep was out of the question.
The events OF the previous few days were
like a dream out of which 1 had Just
awakened. The consequences might have
been serious to me. But I was always
ready for adventures, and had been in
many a predicament equally hazardous.
l lived, as all young sailors live, on ro-
nance and daring. The excitement of
this occasion was as exhilarating to me
as champagne is TO the wine bibber.
In the morning 1 was visited by several
of the captains who had been my guests of
the night before. They had felt some
fear for our safety when they learned that
n conflict had taken place between the
guard in the street we passed through and
a band Of Greek robbers. Two of the
robbers had been killed. These must
have been our pursuers, who, after we
had eluded them, had returned and at
tackled the guard. They were over
powered by q company of soldiers from
the fort, who were making their rounds
to relieve the guard. OF course ! knew
nothing Of what had become Of the
Swedish captain. / assured them thai he
went safely on board and was to have
sailed at sunrise, and that, as the wind
was fresh and fair, / supposed he was off.
l feigned attack Of rheumatism as an ex-
cuse for not going ashore that day. The
following day our consul, hearing 1 was
sick, came on board. From him LEARNED
ono Of the wives of a pasha of the army
Ind a her escape by the aid, it was
supposed, Of the Greek robbers, some of
whom had been captured and would be
executed unless they told where their
companions and the captive were to be
found. 1t was supposed that she was
held for q ransom. A rigid search was
made on board all the Greek vessels, of
which there were many lying in the har-
Dor, but, of course, the missing lady was
not found.
1 will here give the sequel. Nine years
later, while in command Of the clipper
ship D~rendnaught, arriving in New York
one day / made fast ut my usual berth at
the foot Of Rector street, when Capt. Hope,
A Sandy HnnR nilpt Uhn mr. h rhorpo ostar
at the time, boarded my vessel and told
me that q Swedish brig was lying at pier
8, and that her captain was very anxious
to meet me before he sailed. The Con-
stnntinople episode Ind nearly passed from
my mind In the exciting years that had in
tervened. As soon as our gang plank was
hauled ashore q lady and gentleman came
on board. / was standing on the quarter
deck with some custom house officers and
passengers. The lady, whom 1 immedi-
ately recognized, came forward and en-
brnced me with much warmth, and the
gentleman followed suit. The pleasure
attending this happy meeting was shared
by oil who witnessed it. 1t is needless to
say that the pair were the Swedish cap
tain and the lady whom I assisted to
escape from Constantinople. That truth
Is stranger than fiction is here ex-
emplined. After leaving Constantine
PIC bhOh IVY was uuSpSdhuUlc upon
discovering that they had been lovers
In their childhood. She was the flaxen
haired girl for whom my friend had pinned
so long. When they parted as children
her family wen to Moscow, where they
remained several years, and where she
had the advantage Of IN excellent educa-
ton n became a proficient linguist. Her
great beauty attracted universal attention.
She was courted by many, but won by
none. Her father received the appoint
ment of consul at Odessa, but he gave up
this place and migrated to Alexandria,
where he became a grain exporter. This
frequently necessitated journeys into the
interior of Egypt, nj his beautiful
daughter wns his constant companion.
Daring one of these excursions their car
avan was assaulted by Arabs. The men
were slaughtered and robbed and the
women were disposed of among the chiefs.
She fell to the lot of one who sold her into
the harem, whence she WINS rescued by
US. When the pair arrived ut Falmouth,
after the rescue, they were married, and
sailed for Antwerp, where some of her
Jewels were disposed OF to purchase the
brig which he commanded when they paid
their visit to me on board the Dread
nnucht. They had sailed together around